1. Technical Field
A surgical clip applicator is provided which is adapted for use in laparoscopic surgery as well as open surgery, and more particularly to a clip applicator including a replaceable unit containing a supply of surgical clips.
2. Description of Related Art
In the case of laparoscopic or endoscopic surgery, a clip applicator is generally introduced through a trocar cannula, e.g. into the abdominal region. Known endoscopic clip appliers for applying multiple clips during a single body entry are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,084,057 and 5,100,420 to Green et al. In these clip applicators, several clips may be successively supplied from a clip storage unit to a pair of flexible opposing jaws located at the distal end of an endoscopic shaft. Clip application is achieved by the surgeon through manipulation of actuating members associated with the instrument frame. A clip pusher is longitudinally displaceable through the endoscopic shaft to advance a clip to the jaws and a cam channel is also longitudinally displaceable through the endoscopic shaft to close the jaws, thereby forming the clip. Endoscopic clip appliers are also known for applying a single clip during an entry into the body cavity. Such "single clip" clip applicators require withdrawal from the body cavity to load a new clip into the instrument jaws in order to clinically apply a second or subsequent clip. "Single clip" clip applicators are generally fabricated from stainless steel and are resterilized for use in subsequent surgical procedures, i.e., such clip applicators are "reusable."
One possible disadvantage of known endoscopic clip applicators which are adapted to advance and form multiple clips in a single insertion into the body cavity is that, as a result of the complicated internal structure(s), they cannot be effectively resterilized. Conversely, "single clip" clip applicators are not capable of placing multiple clips during a single entry into a body cavity. Therefore, known endoscopic clip applicators do not provide an optimal combination of features, i.e., being usable in a repeated manner from surgical procedure to surgical procedure and being capable of placing multiple clips during a single entry into a body cavity.